By TYLER HENRY
JC Post contributor
The Rural-Vista girls basketball team will begin their sub-state run in the semifinal round against Tescott after a first-round bye and two full weeks off.
The Heat will come into this contest at 10-10 while the Trojans enter at 7-11, fresh off a 43-23 win over Lost Springs-Centre last week.
While Rural-Vista does enter this matchup as the seeded favorite, settling into a rhythm early will be essential for a team that played their last game on February 18th.
“Two weeks between games is tough,” Heat head coach Kane Hensley said. “We had a few days off of regular practice last week and really got back after it this week. We will need to knock the rust off quickly as we can not afford to get ourselves in a hole early.
It’s been a roller-coaster year for Rural-Vista, who won their first five games, then dropped seven of their next eight before closing out their season winning four of their last seven.
Through it all, this Heat team has learned from their losses and grown through the wins, playing some of their best basketball down the stretch with an incredibly young squad.
The best thing I’ve seen from this team has been our growth,” Hensley said. “Having five sophomores in the rotation has had its ups and downs. All five have grown throughout the season and helped us each in their own ways.
The Heat will now turn their attention to a Tescott team that stumbled through the middle of their season as well losing 12 of 14, but righted the ship at the end of the year to win four of their last five.
“They have a lot of size and length that can cause us some issues,” he said. “We will really need to block out and rebound well if we want to hang around with them.”
The Trojans are led by junior Mallorie Church, who averages nearly 13 points and 6 rebounds per game. Rural-Vista will need to play sound defense with solid rotations to advance to the sub-state final on Saturday.
“We need to continue to do what we have done all year and really focus on making teams take contested shots with our length and try to spread other teams out offensively,” Hensley said.
For the Heat, the ultimate goal remains to punch a ticket to state, but Rural-Vista is staying focused on taking things one game at a time.
“We are always striving to reach the state tournament,” he said. “We have focused this year on competing and getting better each night and that will continue to be our focus. No matter what happens, as long as we compete and get better, we will be okay in the long run.”
Tip-off between the Heat and Trojans is set for 6 pm in Claflin with the winner advancing to the sub-state final to take on either 20-1 Central Plains or 6-12 Wilson on Saturday.
For more on Rural-Vista throughout sub-state, stay tuned to the JC Post.